Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to dental floss, and more particularly to dental floss that is coated or impregnated with one or more agents to facilitate identification of usage and/or identification of the presence of a virus, disease or infection, and/or one or more medicaments for treatment or preventive care.
2. Description of the Background Art
Dental floss is a well known tool for cleaning between teeth, and its use is almost universally recommended by dental care professionals. However, dental floss is often misused or used without paying attention to which portions have already been used. Therefore, it is common for a portion of the floss that has already been used to be passed between different teeth. Unfortunately, such xe2x80x9cmisusexe2x80x9d can lead to the spread of caries and periodontal diseases. Clinical studies show that caries and periodontal diseases are readily communicable and that within the mouth bacterial contamination can be transmitted from unhealthy sites to healthy sites, allowing periodontal disease to spread. Therefore, there is a need for a dental floss material that provides a visual indication to the user of which portion of the floss has already been used. The present invention satisfies that need, as well as others, and overcomes numerous problems associated with conventional dental floss.
The present invention comprises various dental floss configurations that can show areas of prior use of the dental floss, that can be used for diagnostic purposes, and/or that can be used for treatment purposes.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the dental floss changes color when passed between the teeth to indicate that the portion of the dental floss where the color change occurred has been previously used. In this way, the user knows not to pass that same portion of dental floss through his or her teeth so as to avoid transmission of bacterial between teeth. In this embodiment, the dental floss is coated or impregnated with one or more agents that facilitate the color change by mechanically rubbing the floss against the oral hard tissue or by chemical reaction or both. The color change could be light sensitive, phosphorescent or any other change that is visible. Additionally, the color change agent can be, for example, sensitive to friction or chemical reaction alone, or in combination with activation heat (e.g., a temperature range present in the mouth).
According to another aspect of the invention, the dental floss can be coated or impregnated with a medicament or anti-microbial agent for treat or prevention of bacteria, disease, virus, infection or the like. An example would be to coat or impregnate the dental floss with fluoride.
According to still another aspect of the invention, the dental floss can be impregnated or coated with an agent that indicates the present of bacteria, disease, virus, infection or the like. The diagnostic agent can be, for example, sensitive to enzyme presence, mole molecules, or the like, either alone or in combination with activation heat (e.g., a temperature range present in the mouth). The presence of bacteria, disease, infection or the like could then be detected by exposing the dental floss to light (assuming a light sensitive agent is used), by culturing the dental floss, by use of chemical reagents, and other means.
Any combination of the foregoing can be incorporated into the dental floss, along with flavoring or odor enhancing agents (e.g., scented dental floss) if desired.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention without placing limitations thereon.